The Tale Ends
by jolleIQ
Summary: An alternative ending to the 'Battle for Mewni' movie special
1. The Tale Ends

**A/N: Instead of a bonus Chapter, I've decided to post a bonus story for this week, one that'll probably leave you guys hating my guts :P. Yay!**

 **Also, if you're new and liked what you've read, be sure to check out my other stories!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _Star vs. The Forces of Evil_** **or any of the Characters. They belong to Daron Nefcy and Disney.**

 **WARNINGS:**

 **-Major Character Death**

 **-Spoilers for the 'Battle for Mewni' special.**

* * *

 **Battle for Mewni**

 **The Tale Ends**

Marco trudged up the stairs, his heavy footfalls a reflection of his mood; Tired and glum. He didn't even bother to say hello to his mother, who could only sigh and look away sadly. He wasn't the same since his return from Mewni two months ago. Not that she could blame him. After all, the information that he'd shared with her and Rafael was one that left both normally-talkative and enthusiastic parents on the brink of tears.

He entered his room, dark and damp, the closed curtains blocking off all sunlight. He threw his backpack onto the floor and crashed into his bed with his back. He stared at the ceiling. By now he'd memorised every line, every crack, every insignificant little detail that was on it. Ever since... _that day,_ he'd been spending most of his days in his room, letting time run its course.

He was in no mood to do anything or hang out with anyone. How could he be? Not after that day...

 _Flashback_

"Done!" Marco said, placing the last piece of the shattered crystal into the hem of the wand and looked excitedly at Queen Moon. "What now?" he asked the Queen, eager to see his best friend again and get this whole mess sorted out.

When Moon didn't respond, Marco repeated his question. "Uh, Queen Moon. The wand's fixed! You can bring Star back any time now, hehe..." he chuckled awkwardly, or was it hopelessly, well aware of his powerlessness in the situation.

The Queen stood up, a dark shadow concealing her face.

"Star... Isn't coming back..." she said, her voice low, filled with unspeakable sorrow only a parent who'd loved his child could experience.

Marco would never forget that look she gave him. He could see the darkness consuming her from within, her cold and lifeless eyes wishing for death and destruction to befall the world that had taken away her daughter. She wanted nothing else but to join her, to see her and embrace her one final time after she'd been taken from her by a foe of old. Her precious Starling, dead, and nobody was to blame but her...

Marco stared in terror at the wand in her hand. The other half of the star turned pitch black and crumbled like it's counterpart. Moon released the wand, letting it fall to the ground. It would only bring her painful memories of her beloved daughter, whom she would never again embrace. She was no longer worthy of the wand. She had failed her duties as Queen, and her little girl had paid the price.

Oh, how she wanted to join her! How she wanted to welcome the cruel mistress of the afterlife and reunite with her daughter, but she couldn't. She had her people, her kingdom to consider. She would live on for them, in misery and torment until the day death bestowed mercy upon her and let her reunite with her precious Starling. A day that she looked forward to.

"... you can go home, Marco," _lifeless words, filled with sorrow..._ "... Go home and... know you've done good..."

She said no more as she departed.

Marco was left there, speechless. He turned his head toward Buff Frog and Ludo. The giant frog-monster was barely holding back tears and holding Ludo in a death grip.

"You! This is **your** fault! Monster!" Buff Frog threw the frightened bird-creature onto the ground and stomped away angrily. Queen Moon was a parent just like he was. She needed someone to talk to right now, and that someone would be him.

Ludo stood up. He spotted the remains of the wand and went to pick it up. Upon seeing that it no longer had any magic in it, he handed it over to Marco, who was still lost in a daze of emotions.

"I never meant for this to happen... I'm sorry..." he muttered and turned away in shame. He whistled once and was swept away by the giant bird he'd befriended. Where he was off to, only he knew.

Marco's hands shook furiously as he held the wand, and mad laughter escaped his mouth.

Was this really happening? Or was it a nightmare, his own mind playing tricks on him?

"No..." the word came out as a whimper through fresh tears, refusing to acknowledge reality.

The seal of Oblivion was broken and, just like that, Star was... gone, and no amount of crying or regret would bring her back.

Toffee has won.

 _Present time_

Marco stared out the window.

Summer was coming to an end on Earth as the leaves fell down from the trees, lifeless and dry. Marco watched them dance in the wind from the enclosure of his damp and dusty room. Some were yellow, the same shade as her hair, and he feared that if he went out, the memories of the Mewman princess would overwhelm him and send his mind spiralling toward madness. It was already in a dark enough place, had been for along time now.

He curled up and bawled in self-pity.

His soul would never be whole again. His heart would forever be lost in cold winter nights, never to experience _her_ warmth again.

All that remained of his best friend, his soulmate, _his_ princess, was a broken wand hanging on his wall.

 ** _FIN_**

* * *

 **Sorry, not sorry :D!**

 **Ayy, I can understand why Nefcy does this kind of stuff! It's fun as hell!**

 **Anyway, let's have a little vote, shall we? Just write in the reviews whether you want me to continue this and make a little 'Disney Ending' if you catch my drift ;)?**


	2. The Void

***Demonic voice***

 **MUAHAHAHA! YES! BEG! BEG, YOU SIMPLE-MINDED MORTALS! YOUR AGONY AND DESPERATION FUELS MY VERY BEIN- *cough* *cough*... ugh... sorry about that, I let my 'normal side' take contr- I-I m-mean my 'evil side', yes, definitely NOT my normal side.**

 **Yep...**

 **Anyway, I'm kinda sad that I can't even kill a Character without you guys (overwhelmingly) demanding the cliché 'Disney Ending'... I've half a mind to troll you people and pull another 'Farewell' but the police are already suspicious of me so I guess I'm gonna give you what you actually requested. So, without further ado, here it is!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own shit but the plot.**

* * *

 **The Void**

Sometimes, things happen; Forces beyond our influence come into play without a forewarning. Love and loss, war and conflict, life and death- They all dance around us as they please, sometimes taking us for a spin, other times ignoring us entirely and finding another partner to tango with. This time, their partner had been Star, and she'd been taken all around the ballroom and passed from one force to another.

The love for her best friend.

The loss of her easy-going life on Earth.

The war with a foe of old.

The conflict in her heart.

And lastly, death took the final dance of the night while life watched from the sidelines, staring at her wistfully as she danced.

It was, however, a dance she'd decided to accept in order to allow life to dance with those she loved. The wand had to be destroyed, even with the immense cost.

At least, that's what Star kept telling herself as she drifted endlessly in an empty space, a void without any substance and no signs of anyone but herself in it.

 _So, this is what death looks like._ The thought echoed in her mind, her own voice speaking to her.

She'd always imagined the afterlife as a place in the clouds, filled with all the corn she could eat and the monsters she could battle, not... this place...

She stared into nothingness day in and day out, hoping to see... well... something other than this endless nothing.

She never did.

Time had lost its meaning and she no longer knew how much of it she'd spent here already.

An hour?

A month?

A year?

Perhaps a decade?

She didn't know. She didn't care.

Honestly, she wasn't even sad. Or happy. Or scared, confused, bored; Emotions didn't seem to exist here. Instead, an everlasting calm flowed within her.

It was peaceful. So peaceful. She was sure that if she closed her eyes for just a single moment, she would drift away into a slumber not even bears during winter could match.

If she just closed her eyes, only for a moment...

Yet, something was stopping her.

Her senses still worked, and they kept screaming at her to keep her eyes open and not give in to the temptation, alluring as it was.

So, she kept them open, waiting for... something.

That's right! She was waiting!

Um... What was she waiting for, exactly? And how long would she have to wait?

Meh, it didn't matter. She had all the time she needed. She had all eternity, by the looks of it.

And so she kept drifting on and on, with nothing but this Void around her.

The only entertainment she had were her own memories. They were all so clear, playing like a movie before her very eyes.

Everything, from the day she was born to the day she'd made her sacrifice. It was all there, like data on a disc.

The more she watched them, the more she grew weary of them.

Well, all but _one_ memory, which involved a masked boy and Bloodmoon.

Yes, she may have danced with every possible partner, but none of them could compete with him. She replayed the memory over and over again and paid close attention to every frame, every step, every single movement. But it wasn't herself that she was paying attention to. No, her eyes were always locked on the figure dancing with her underneath the red light of the moon.

She felt something.

 _Wait, what's this? Something... wet... on my cheeks?_

She reached for her face.

Tears?

Why was she crying?

But, she couldn't be sad here! She didn't feel sad!

...Right?

And yet the tears kept flowing down her cheeks, gliding along her soft skin and seemingly separating her two hearts in half.

She began sobbing.

Not because she was sad, but because she wanted to _be_ sad, but couldn't.

She was dead, forever condemned to this Void, and she knew it.

In the midst of utter despair, only three words found their way out of her mouth.

Three words that would likely never reach their intended recipient.

Three simple words.

 _"Marco... Save me..."_

 ** _FIN_**

* * *

 **Alright, done with another chapter of this... whatever it is.**

 **Feel free to leave a review.**

 **Oh, and 'Staring it up!' will be updated tomorrow.**


	3. The Dream

**A/N: Well, here's the continuation! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Characters, just the plot.**

 **RE-UPLOAD: My bad. I forgot to add one significnt detail at the end when Marco notices Star's wand. The rest is the same.**

* * *

 **The Dream**

 _Marco... Save me..._

The boy trusted and turned in his bed as the words haunted him in his dream.

 _Marco... Save me..._

Those words, those agonizing words, buzzing around him like a fly.

 _Marco... Save me..._

That voice. Soft, beautiful, familiar...

Once so lively and filled with energy, now hollow and sad. Just like him. It was fitting, he supposed.

And the words kept repeating, over and over again, calling out for him. But he knew better than to let their illusion blind him from the truth. This was a dream, one he'd been having for over a month now.

Always the same godforsaken dream of standing in the middle of nothingness and hearing her silent pleas.

It was torture.

It was torture because it wasn't real. She wasn't real. Not anymore. She was only a memory now, both in real life and in his dreams.

He was a smart kid, smart enough to know not to get his hopes up over a silly dream.

Then, he saw her. Sitting there in the middle of nothingness, hugging her legs and sobbing, hiccuping, crying. She looked so pale. So weak.

So real.

"Star!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, forgetting himself for a moment, forgetting that she was only an illusion.

She didn't hear him. Instead, she kept crying and hugging herself.

"Star!" He kept shouting as he ran towards her, hoping that she would hear his cries. To his dismay, she not only didn't seem to hear or notice him but, no matter how much he ran, he didn't get any closer to her.

But God, that wouldn't stop him from trying. She was right in front of him, and he was determined to get through to her.

So he kept running, sweating, yelling her name over and over again until the breath in his lungs fell short and his voice became hoarse.

With a final, agonizing scream, he collapsed.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

She wouldn't answer his calls, no matter how hard he tried.

All he wanted was for her to see him, to talk to him.

But such luck wasn't his.

 _Marco...?_

His eyes shot open. A flood of fresh energy washed over him and he forced himself upright.

He stared into those beautiful blue spheres, losing himself in their haze. They hadn't lost any of their charm or allurement.

 _If you're here, then... No..._ she gasped, striking a panicked expression. _Please, don't tell me that Toffee got you too..._

"Got me too? What do you mean? And where exactly is 'here'?"

He was going crazy. Talking to an illusion. He should know better than to deceive himself, to give himself a false sense respite from his nightmares.

But he wanted to pretend like this wasn't a dream. For just a moment, he wanted to pretend that this was real, that this was the real Star, alive and well.

God, how he missed her. How he missed seeing her, talking to her.

Even if this was just a dream, God, he needed it.

 _Marco, I'm dead._

It never stopped, did it? Even in his dreams, he wasn't free of the cruel reality.

"I-I know, Star, I know..." How good it felt to say her name again, after such a long time. "I'm just happy to see you again, even if you're just a dream."

 _A dream? Marco, how did you even end up in this place?_

"Same as every night for the past month or so. I fall asleep and never dream of anything else but this place, although this is the first time I've got to see you, not just hear you."

 _Marco, listen to me. I have no idea how you keep ending up here, but you need to leave, like, now, before it's too late to escape this place._

He had to admit, for a figure formed by his dreams, she looked and sounded very real.

"Well, it's not really up for me to decide what I'll dream abou-"

 _Marco, this isn't a dream._

His eyes widened.

"Of course this is a dream! And you're not the real Star. You just said it yourself, she's dead."

 _I know I'm dead. This place,_ she looked around herself, _This place is called The Void, where all trapped souls go. I can't leave, but you still can! So run!_

"Trapped?" he asked.

 _Yes, trapped,_ she confirmed.

Suddenly, it hit him. The reoccurring dreams, her soft cries for help, the realism of it all...

Hold the phone!

This was real!

This was friggin real!

And if this was real, then it could only mean one thing.

"Star, you're not dead!"

 _I am dead, Marco._ Seeing him getting his hopes up; No, she couldn't do that to him. But boy, was he a stubborn one...

"Well, not entirely! And if I can see and talk to you in this, whatever it is, then there must be a way to get you out of here!" He was getting excited. She saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes, and it was tearing her apart. "Just hold out a few more days and I'll come and get you, somehow. Maybe your mom can-"

 _No, Marco,_ she cut him off, smiling weakly. _I'm not allowing you to risk your own life just to get me back._

"Well, you're not stopping me! I'm getting you back!" he said, very determined.

She shook her head.

 _No, you're not._

Suddenly, the Void around him shook violently. He looked at her, eyes filled with confusion. She was smiling painfully, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"What's going on? What did you do!?"

 _I told you, I won't allow you to risk your life for me. Not again. I'm going to stop you from ever coming back to this place, even if it means sacrificing the last bit of energy I have left and fading from existence._

Fading from existence? What's she-

"No..." he said, his voice out of breath.

 _Please. Just forget about me..._

He lunged at her, desperate to stop her, but the distance between them did not waver. The Void kept shaking and he could feel his presence becoming weaker. With a cry of desperation, he hoped to talk some sense into her.

"Star, we're not doing this! Stop whatever you're doing this instant and let me save you!"

She did not listen to his plea.

 _Goodbye..._

"No!" He screamed. The void around him was crumbling, along with her. She smiled sadly at him.

 _Marco, I lo-_

At that moment, everything around him collapsed, and he found himself sitting upright in his bed, panting heavily.

He was in his room, alone in the darkness.

" **God fucking dammit!** " he cried out in sheer frustration and punched the alarm clock on his nightstand with such a force that it broke upon hitting the wall.

Then, he broke down in tears.

That idiot. That stubborn idiot!

That stubborn idiot!

Why did she keep doing this!? Why did she keep prioritizing his safety over her own!? Constantly protecting him and causing herself pain just so he could live on happily.

Why was he so pathetic?

Not only had he been oblivious to her feeling and hurt her without even realizing it, but now he'd lost her for good.

And he never got a chance to clear things up with her, to tell her how _he_ felt about this.

Tell her that he...

Something caught his attention. He raised his head to look at the sight before him and wiped his eyes, not only to rid himself of the tears but to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Across his room, mounted on the wall next to a picture of himself and Star that the duo had taken in a photo booth, was Star's wand, periodically emitting a flicker of red light and with it, hope.

He stared at it in silence for what felt like ages before wiping away the last of his tears.

With newfound determination, he swore a silent oath, a promise to both himself and her.

"I'll get you back, Star. Mark my words, I'll get you back..."

 _To be continued..._

* * *

 **Chapter end notes:**

 **I'm gonna be honest with you people. I have no idea where I'm going with this or how it'll end, but I hope you're enjoying it. 'Till next time, my friends!**


	4. Can't say I'm sorry, because I'm not

**Alright, so I got a few questions basically asking me 'did you stop writing this story?' or 'when's the next update?'.**

 **To answer the 1st concern; No, I've not abandoned this story. It's just one of those 'I'll write it when I feel like it' type of stories. Lately, I just haven't been 'feeling it' for Fanfiction in general, and the only story I still actively work on is 'Staring it up!' since it does have a decent following and I don't wanna keep that many readers waiting or in the dark for too long.**

 **Note that this doesn't mean that I've gotten tired of writing! I work on my Fantasy novel daily and with great motivation. Consequently, I guess, other stuff just isn't as appealing to write.**

 **To answer the 2nd question; I'm going on vacation tomorrow and will be spending time with my family, visiting places, wandering around the city, etc. So I _probably_ won't get much writing done, especially stuff related to Fanfiction. Therefore, I estimate that this fic will be updated sometime between the 10th and the 16th of September. I've already laid down the foundation for the next chapter, but have yet to begin writing it.**

 **That being said, I've already considered taking a little break from Fanfiction, but decided to first finish 'Staring it up!', then take a _long_ Hiatus before I start working on its concluding sequel, which will possibly be my farewell story from this site.**

 **This is just my current mindset. Things may change in the coming months.**

 **I thank you for your patience and understanding.**

 **-jolleIQ**


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